


Sticky Notes and Surprises

by scarletmaskandwings



Series: Even the Stars Shine Brighter With You [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Superman - All Media Types, Superman/Batman (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Jay and Tim are not siblings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 15:50:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14876751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletmaskandwings/pseuds/scarletmaskandwings
Summary: Clark spends time at the Wayne Manor, and Bruce sometimes leave him sticky notes in Kryptonian. Clark also regrets the fact that Bruce’s trainees are overachievers in the language department.





	Sticky Notes and Surprises

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [意外便笺](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17321090) by [Fiona0707](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiona0707/pseuds/Fiona0707)



> I recently fell hard into the Batman fandom via dashboard osmosis, and while I am slowly working my way through various Batman comics and media, this story is very much not cannon compliant to any specific Batman universe, and I am gleefully mashing them all together. This is also the first of my many universe ideas to be posted, and just to be very extra clear: Jason Todd and Timothy Wayne are not siblings in this universe.

Clark knows he’s smiling sappily at the small faint yellow square now stuck to his fingers. But he can’t help himself. It’s always the little things that _really_ get him, small acts that show what Bruce often cannot say. He had peeled the sticky-note off the neat pile of his briefcase and jacket on a chair in the kitchen, very much a place they had not been dropped last night, and the familiar handwriting told him exactly who had placed them there with such pointed precision.

The pattern of nearly silent movement and light breathing indicated Damian’s approach, and the boy, or rather preteen, squinted in the morning light filtering into the kitchen as he walked straight towards the teapot on the counter.

“Good morning, Kent,” he said crisply, his voice sounding more awake than he looked, very intent upon going through his usual routine of pouring his tea and then adding a touch of sugar and splash of milk, wait, make that more sugar than usual. Must’ve been a rough patrol night then.

He turned around cradling his mug in his hands, inhaling the fragrance of Lady Grey, and frowned at Clark. “You are looking at that note very sentimentally, Kent.”

“Oh? Well- yes….” said Clark, jumping a little at Damian’s observation, but knowing full well he always wore his emotions on his sleeve, as it were.

Damian edged nonchalantly closer rather like a cat pretending it wasn’t interested in something, while sipping his tea. He peered around Clark’s arm to see the sticky-note and frowned some more at it. “That is Father’s handwriting… in Kryptonian.” He glanced up at Clark, then back to the note, and the up to Clark again. “Why would he leave you a paper note? You have one of the tablets, correct? A digital note is much more efficient, and cannot be lost.” He slurped his tea, a sign he was thinking hard and then continued with, “And it’s possible to use a much more thorough encryption process, instead of simply relying on ignorance of a langue to keep information safe.” Another pensive slurp, and then he looked up again. “Unless there were also a word or other linguistical substitution also in play?”

“No. Nothing like that. It’s not even anything that important, just a little reminder,” said Clark, stifling a chuckle at the boy’s convoluted reasoning that was so much like Bruce’s.

“A calendar alert would still be more logical for that,” huffed Damian into his tea.

“Morning C, baby bird,” a raspy voice from the kitchen door behind them both cut in, and darn that boy for being the only person to truly sneak up on him!

Clark hid his flinch well, Damian sputtered softly into his tea and glared over his shoulder, whether at being startled or at the nickname Clark couldn’t tell. He could now catch the heartbeat pattern that belonged to Jay, but he still moved even quieter than Damian, which meant to a normal human he was totally silent in bare feet and sweatpants, and barely audible to Clark.

“Whatcha lookin’ at?”

“Apparently Father is leaving sticky-notes in Kryptonian for Kent.”

Jason yawned widely as he paced over to them and peered over Clark’s shoulder, squinting sleepily at the note. “Huh, his handwriting is actually neater in Kryptonian, what the hell.”

“You recognize the letters, Todd?” asked Damian in blatant disbelief.

Jay nodded with an ‘uh huh,’ and Clark froze. “Yeah. It says, using formal tense for proper passive aggressiveness, ‘It would be appreciated by the house of Wayne if the scion of the house of El would refrain from leaving items of his personal ownership scattered throughout the house, and instead confined them to his personal quarters.’” Jay kept a perfectly straight face and didn’t even flinch as he kept skimming the note that was now metaphorically burning Clark’s hand. “And then it goes on to detail the consequences of continuing that slovenly behavior.” He glanced at Clark with an innocent grin saying, “That about right?”

The Kryptonian swallowed before replying, squelching the urge to run from the room and instead managed to maintain eye contact with Jason. “Yeah, that’s about right. I, uh, didn’t know you knew Kryptonian?” he added a bit sheepishly.

“Oh yeah,” Jay waved a hand casually as he stepped around them and headed for the coffee pot. “I taught myself it last time I was bored out of my mind convalescing here.” He poured half a cup of coffee and sniffed it contemplatively and then filled it the rest of the way before rummaging through the spice cupboard.

Clark racked his memory, trying to remember the last time the young man had been at Wayne manor for a long recovery period and came up blank. “How long ago was that?”

Jay was concentrating on adding cinnamon, nutmeg, and a small dash of allspice to his coffee and said without looking up, “Oh, like two years ago, when I broke my tibia.”

“Oh,” Clark said faintly, carefully tucking the note away in his pocket. He refused to blush as he remembered all the times Jay dropped into the cave unexpectedly while he and Bruce had been flirting, and saying the dirtiest things they could think of in Kryptonian to see whose control broke first. He refused to blush as he thought of the note burning a hole in his pocket, the end consequences detailing _exactly_ how Bruce would tie him down and deliciously torment him without giving him release before fucking him long and hard until he cummed his brains out. Well this wasn’t embarrassing or horrifically awkward at all.

“It’s been real fun. Complicated, but fun,” Jason finished pouring honey into his coffee and stirred it vigorously as he turned around to face Clark again. “Practiced conversations a bit with Kon, too.”

“Ah, good.”

Then in nearly flawless Kryptonian he said, **< <** _I_ **_always find a practical application of linguistic prowess_ [word with sexual undertones] _to be most helpful when learning another tongue_** [word that can indicate both language and the taste of another’s soul, aka kissing deeply]. _**The Bird of Red was also a very adept learner at the tongue** _ [same innuendo] **_of the house of El_ ** [inflection indicating a minor member of the house, aka probably Kon]. **> >** He slurped his coffee with a perfectly normal expression on his face. Too normal.

Clark just looked blankly at Jason as he tried to process what he said. If he really meant to use those specific phrasings, then that meant… _Nope. Not going to touch that. Bruce can deal with that. Quick, subject change._ “I see. It’s... always a good idea to learn another language. Thinking of trying to decipher any of the tech I brought back to the Watchtower?” Oh wait, Jay wouldn’t have access there–

“Yeah! I actually think I nearly figured out how the universal maglev system works, and the cloaking shield. I’ll wanna field test ‘em down on earth though. There’s a distinct possibility of things going boom if I mathed wrong.”

Well crap, Jay managed to hack Bruce’s systems. Again. “I look forward to seeing the results, whatever they are,” Clark chuckled. Bruce was not going to be happy about that….

Damian cut in saying, “You always like explosions far more than you let on. It would be a shame for the world to know that Superman was secretly a pyromaniac.” He sipped his tea very not innocently.

This family and their need to snark at everything. “Yes, yes it would be, if that were true.” He checked his watch and then said, “I gotta work on a story, so I’ll be in the study if anyone needs me. See you boys later!” He turned and left the kitchen. He wasn’t running away. It was a strategic retreat so he could go die of embarrassment and shame somewhere in private. He rounded the corner right before the study and nearly ran into Bruce, who managed not to look startled, damn him.

“Good morning,” he said and stepped well into Clark’s personal space. “Did you find my note?”

“Yeah, about that….”

* * *

 

Two weeks later:

“Goddamnit Bruce! What the hell are you doing leaving a note like this in the fridge?”

Bruce placidly sipped his coffee without looking up from the newspaper he was reading. “If detailed writings of what I have planned for you disturb other members of this house, then they should mind their own damn business and not read notes clearly addressed to you.”

Clark groaned in despair and disbelief, and deliberately collapsed into the chair next to Bruce’s slumping his full weight against the other man. Bruce was impossible.

He absentmindedly patted Clark’s face still without looking up, nearly poking him in the eye, and picked up buttery scone and held it to Clark’s mouth. “Scone?”

Clark glared at the fluffy pastry and then resignedly chomped a large bite out of it, barely missing Bruce’s fingers. The eccentricities he put up with…


End file.
